In October, we were thrilled to welcome a familiar face to a new position at Rainier Scholars. Please join us in saying hello and congratulations to Hannah Bahn, who has served as our Academic Director since 2022, and is stepping in as our new Chief Program Officer!
As a reflection of our evolving organizational needs, and in support of our updated strategic plan, we created the Chief Program Officer position to provide strategic support across both our Seattle and Tacoma sites. Hannah will focus on strengthening our programs through research, curriculum design, program development, staff training, and impact evaluation. This work will identify opportunities for innovation and improvement while helping us cultivate stronger cross-site alignment, respond to evolving needs in education equity, and elevate our impact through data-informed decision-making.
Among a pool of highly-qualified candidates, Hannah rose to the top thanks to her deep passion for Rainier Scholars and extensive background in curriculum design and educational leadership—from founding a school in Arkansas to a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania to her impressive leadership of the Academic Enrichment Phase (AEP). Hannah loves research and is full of curiosity. Her vision is aligned with our strategic direction, commitment to centering students and families, and approach to learning from our successes while thoughtfully evolving in ways that protect the essential depth and impact that defines Rainier Scholars. Hannah also deeply understands the importance of honoring the similarities and differences between our Seattle and Tacoma programs—recognizing that each serves distinct communities with unique needs.
Learn more about Hannah in her own words:
Tell us about your Rainier Scholars journey. What brought you to Rainier Scholars?
I began my career as a middle and high school social studies teacher. Coming out of undergrad, I made an intentional decision to teach in independent schools. As a white woman, I felt like I had a role to play in pushing on those spaces to be more inclusive to a wider range of students and families. This work ranged from teaching courses about social justice and supporting student-led discussion groups about racial and socioeconomic diversity to facilitating year-long professional development series for teachers about diversity, equity and inclusion.
However, after teaching for a few years, I moved to Arkansas to be part of founding a new independent school. That school served a higher proportion of students of color and students who would be the first in their families to go to college. While teaching there, I realized that my work to make independent schools more equitable and inclusive was not impactful if students didn’t have access to those spaces to begin with. None of the work we were doing mattered if kids weren’t getting their foot in the door.
I wanted to work at Rainier Scholars because of its unique model: the organization helps students get access to college-preparatory environments like independent schools AND gives them skills and support necessary to be successful in those spaces. I was drawn to the Rainier Scholars mission and was thrilled to be hired as the Academic Director in 2022. Over the last three and a half years, I learned a lot about how to retain and support students and families. I also grew as a leader of a team – the Academic Enrichment Phase (AEP) is basically a school on steroids. I felt like I was ready to take all I learned through that experience and apply it to a new challenge. I am so excited to support the future growth of this organization as our first Chief Program Officer.
How do you support the mission of our organization?
The thing that makes Rainier Scholars work well is our deep relationships with kids and families. At our orientation for new parents, we’ll often do a panel where prospective families can ask tenured families questions. I always feel humbled when our parent panelists say statements like, “When Rainier Scholars says they’re here for you, they actually mean it.” I hope that I can use the added capacity that I have in this new role to support our front-line staff in doing the meaningful work of building relationships with and providing support to students and families, whether that be by documenting processes, designing curriculum or answering pressing questions using data.
This new role is also an important part of the organization’s growth. As we’ve expanded from one site to two, we need someone who is tasked with questions like, “How do these sites fit together?” and “What’s the same and what’s different?” I’m excited to support our growth and help with cohering our mission across sites and staff.
Finally, I want to make sure that Rainier Scholars’ programming continues to stay relevant and up to date. I want to make sure we’re learning from the most recent research and being innovative in terms of how we design and implement programming.
What are some words of advice you might offer to your younger, middle-school aged self?
I was a perfectionist as a child. For me, the advice would be to: be okay with messiness for longer–whether that’s messy ideas or learning a new skill that feels challenging. A lot can be gained by staying in that less comfortable, less linear, and less clear space for longer.
If Rainier Scholars was a book title, what would it be?
The Sweet Spot of High Expectations and High Support
What is something that made you smile recently?
We recently took my 1.5 year old to the pumpkin patch. He was very into the goats, and we chuckled at his “drive by petting.” He’d walk by and do a swipe of an animal and just keep walking. He was prancing around and just utterly delighted–and so were we. It was very sweet.
What is the coolest personal project you are working on?
Honestly, most of my time is taken up by work and parenting a busy toddler. But, when I have a spare moment, I enjoy cooking recipes from The New York Times. I’ve got a folder of five-star recipes that are on my list to try!